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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-01-16TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 1 of 9 TOWN OF DRYDEN TOWN BOARD MEETING January 16, 2014 Present: Supervisor Mary Ann Sumner, Cl Joseph Solomon, Cl Jason Leifer, Cl Linda Lavine, Cl Gregory Sloan Absent: Cl Joseph Solomon Elected Officials: Bambi L. Avery, Town Clerk Other Town Staff: Mahlon R. Perkins, Town Attorney Kevin Ezell, Code Enforcement Officer David Sprout, Code Enforcement Officer Supv Sumner opened the meeting at 7:05 p.m. CITIZENS PRIVILEGE Joe Osmeloski offered congrats and welcome to Greg Sloan and Rick Young. He sends best wishes to Erin Bieber, and said they missed her at the Ag Committee meeting. He understands there is a resolution to authorize the application for a Farmland Protection Grant on tonight’s agenda. He saw the draft application and said it was spectacular. Jane Nicholson worked hard on that with Craig Anderson and Craig Schutt. He urged the board to pass the resolution and said the Town would benefit from it by finding out everything Ag related in Dryden. It will also help with how Ag plays a part in the open space plan. He thanked everyone that helped. Supv Sumner thanked the Ag Adv Committee for urging the board to apply. Craig Anderson said there is a need for an economic development plan for the town. The Planning Board has been working on it some, but the town has no real policy for a long term development plan. The Comprehensive Plan has an economic element it in, but it m ainly focuses on design guidelines and land use issues. There is no strategy or goals for stimulating economic growth or retaining business. He is concerned about the future of Dryden’s finances. No one wants to see staff or services cut, and the board doesn’t want to increase taxes. But property owners are facing an increase as a long term consequence of what we are seeing economically. An economic development plan could help the town create policies and develop strategies that would create employment opportunities, diversify the economy, help access federal, state and private grants, and control a little more of our own destiny. He asked the Town Board to direct the Planning Dept staff and perhaps some of the boards to work on an economic development plan before updating the comprehensive plan. Joe Laquatra, Planning Board Chair, spoke in supp ort of the resolution passed by the Planning Board at their October meeting to fill the position of Planning Director. He said the board has a reputation for going from sketch plan review to site plan review in 30 days if the developer does all their work, but he is worried they won’t be able to do that without the position filled. Joe Wilson congratulated Greg Sloan and Rick Young on the election and getting started in a diligent and energetic way. He looks forward to learning more about the TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 2 of 9 agricultural property protection grant application and the plans that develop. Hopes that there will be some way the general public will be informed without having to go to each of the various committee meetings. He looks forward to the notion of putting someone on the planning board into an economic development position as well, and agrees that we need as much thinking in advance of major moves as we can generate. Learning how to have an economic plan and an economic planner makes good sense. He knows the board is considering joining a grant process with the New York Rural Water Association Source Water Protection Program. He hopes that after consideration of the free services that the town will join in that program. He has been sitting in on Caroline’s efforts in a water protection law, and they have resolved to join the organization. It makes good sense, since we share aquifers, that we work with them. He is looking to moving forward in a methodical, thoughtful way in protecting our roads. The German Cross Road incident is an example of what could occur when we aren’t thinking in a logical way about protecting our roads and the quality of life of the people who live adjacent to those roads. Deborah Cipolla Dennis echoes Joe Wilson about participating in New York Rural Water Association Source Water Protection Program. It is a great complement to what is already being done with Community Science Institute’s testing. We are learning a lot from the data that is gathered and anything we can do to protect wate r is very important. That would also help us move toward enacting laws to protect the water in the future. With respect to German Cross Road, in the spring trucks will go down that road again. She has friends that live on German Cross Road and was visiting a few days ago, and noticed there is another house for sale on that road. Another person has built a large fence as a barrier. The town did have a discussion meeting and that went pretty well, but she hasn’t heard anything since then. It would be good to have an update. She understands that Danby enacted a road protection law because of K Whetzel’s activities in Danby. She congratulated G Sloan and R Young on joining us at the beginning of the year and M Sumner and J Leifer on their re-elections. Judy Pierpont, 111 Pleasant Hollow Road, supports the resolution to participate in New York Rural Water Association Source Water Protection Program. There is a possibility it has come at an opportune time. We are blessed by a rich supply of water and we need to take stock of how important it is to our lives. It is a resource fought over in the world and we cannot take it for granted. We have a rich supply compared to the states in the Midwest that are suffering from drought. Farmers in California may not plant if they don’t get rain. The West is selling hay to china, and we could grow it here. We don’t have full data on our water supplies and need to know what we can do to protect it . We are in a good position here to take up serious and profitable agriculture because we have the water resources. Bruno Schickel said Craig Anderson made some extremely good points and hopes the board gives them serious consideration. When town, county and school taxes are combined, Dryden and Groton are tied highest in the County (for the parts of Dryden in the Dryden School District). It’s difficult to sell homes in those parts of Dryden. That needs to be considered. As far as the Planning Department and the push to rehire a Director of Planning, he has previously offered a town by town analysis that shows that the Town of Dryden is extremely overstaffed compared to other towns with that position filled. Currently he believes it is still overstaffed compared to other towns with the possible exception of Ith aca. The town should keep a lid on the staff size in the Planning Department. TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 3 of 9 With respect to the question of economic development, he read the proposed resolution and its goal is to get a Director of Planning that has economic development expertise so they could bring those skills to the table. He thinks it is a good move to have someone in the department with economic development skills. The town has a real challenge and a rise in the tax base is absolutely essential. If the town starts to raise taxes, it will be working in the opposite direction. Todd Bittner, Director of Natural Areas at Cornell Plantations, spoke to the board and appealed for support for protection of a unique natural area adjacent to the Plantation’s Ringwood Ponds natural area. Ringwood Ponds natural area is one of the most unique areas in the Town because from a complex set of glacial history that left kettle hole ponds, among other things, that contributed to a diverse set of habitats and unique flora and fauna in this ar ea. It is likely the most significant site for amphibians in all of Tompkins County. It has some n ear- old growth forest characteristics. The area was recognized over a 100 years and conservation efforts began in 1934 with a gift to Cornell of 144 acres by the Lloyd Library Museum of Cincinnati, Ohio. Additional donations and acquisition over the years have brought it to its current size of 220 acres. The area affords a number of benefits to the town of Dryden. It is most likely our most widely used Plantations Natural Area in the Town of Dryden. It supports research projects from Cornell and other institutions of higher learning, and field trips from local schools. All 220 acres are open to the public and there is over a mile and half of maintained trails. It is a favorite location for bird watching and is o pen to deer hunting under Cornell Plantations deer management program. The Plantations has an opportunity to purchase and protect an additional ten acres adjacent to the Ringwood Farms natural area. A neighbor, John Semmler, has offered 9.88 acres of the southern portion of his 50 acre tract. This property is included in the Tompkins County Unique Natural Areas Inventory. It has been identified by the Finger Lakes Land Trust as a primary conservation area in the Emerald Necklace Program. It is included in NYS Department of Environmental Conservation’s Natural Heritage Database for containing rare plants, animals and/or significant ecological communities of statewide concern. It contains designated wetlands identified by the National Wetlands Inventory that form the headwaters of Cascadilla Creek. This 10 acre addition includes a large ravine that is heavily forested with hemlock, maple and oak. It also contains a glacially created kett le hole pond; a unique natural feature that provides amphibian habitat. These ephemeral ponds have no fish in them, so the amphibians thrive. There are several significant ponds in the area and the one in the Semmler tract is about a half an acre. The Plantations has secured a purchase offer for $8,000 to acquire this parcel, significantly below market value. The gift is being made in his son Andres’s name. Plantations plans to add this parcel to the Ringwood Ponds natural area and have it open to the public for learning and enjoyment. They hope to extend the trail to the area. They would like a contribution from the Town of Dryden to offset one half of the acquisition price. Charlie Smith, Chair of the Conservation Board, said the Conservation Board voted unanimously in favor of this acquisition and recommended that the details be worked out between the board and Cornell Plantations. Cl Lavine said this is very exciting. It’s a wonderful, important spot for educational, recreational and scientific uses. It is a great bargain. It’s a modest amount of money. Supv Sumner said the problem is that the town is now in a fixed and very lean budget. She would like the board to make a commitment of some kind. Perhaps a portion could be paid this year and a portion next year. She would like to discuss this at the agenda meeting and draft a resolution for the February meeting. TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 4 of 9 TOWN CLERK RESOLUTION #27 (2014) – APPROVE MINUTES Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: RESOLVED, that this Town Board hereby approves the meeting minutes of December 12, 2014. 2nd Cl Sloan Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes HIGHWAY/DPW DEPARTMENT Highway Superintendent Rick Young said he has been busy keeping the equipment going and the roads plowed and expects to give a better report next month. COUNTY BRIEFING Martha Robertson said the County Legislature is getting its committees ready for the year. The IDA met today and she attended a Regional Economic Development Council meeting in Binghamton where they reviewed the awards that were announced in December and looked at opportunities coming up this year. The Southern Tier has been able to get pots of money and accept applications and make awards for their own region. Six different funds have “rolling admissions” and whenever a project is ready someone can apply. The categories are: Shovel ready site development, community revitalization, rural initiative fund, telemedicine an d mobile technology fund, and community renewal fund. The money has been sent by the state and is now in the hands of the local councils. More information can be found on their website http://regionalcouncils.ny.gov/content/southern-tier Mike Lane – Martha Robertson did not seek reelection as legislative Chair and he was elected as Chair. In 20 years since he first took a seat on the legislature they have had 2 chairs from the Town of Ithaca, two from the City of Ithaca and two from the Town of Dryden. The legislature will continue to do the people’s business the best they can, particularly if there aren’t too many impediments put on them by the State of New York. Governor Cuomo’s State of State message talked about tax relief in the form of a tax rebate to taxpayers only in those municipalities and school districts that keep within the 2% tax levy cap. He believes that would have resulted in a check for $7 this year. In the meanwhile, they would not be able to fund their capital program. The County wants to maintain its reserve. Many municipalities have dipped into their reserves in order to make sure they stay within the cap. Eventually that will catch up and they will have difficulties in the future. The second year the Governor is proposing that not only must the municipality keep within the tax cap, it must show efforts of some kind toward consolidation. They aren’t sure whether that means consolidation of municipalities or consolidation of services. Services have been consolidated in the county for several years. TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 5 of 9 This year he is asking the committees at the legislature to particularly pay attention to where they might be able to improve consolidation of services in the future. We know there are cases where we can save money, but not all consolidations will save money. M Lane agrees with the Governor that small businesses do need tax relief, but he worries about a county that is already having to pay 78% of its real property tax levy toward unfunded state mandates, leaving only 22% for all the things a county does (Sheriff Dept, county roads, county jail, youth programs and such). They will continue to do their best, but will continue to try to make the state understand that these are state programs and they need to take over the cost and put it on the income tax, not on the local property tax. DEPARTMENT REPORTS Written reports were submitted by Recreation Department, Town Historian, and Planning Department. Supv Sumner encouraged advisory board chairs to submit a report. Supervisor’s Report – Supv Sumner said she has been engaged in IT services and developing a managed services agreement. She met with Mary Ellen Rumsey of the Southworth Library board, who will be giving a presentation to the board in the future. She was appointed Vice-chair at Bolton Point. They just completed a million gallon tank on Burdick Hill Road. Two tank projects completed in the same year. She has been heavily involved in a group of 6 municipalities who share sewer capacity through Cayuga Heights sewer plant and IAWWTP. It has been a long process of sorting out what has been neglected for 10 years. The Town received a grant for a study of consolidation of our water and sewer districts. It would be more economical to manage them jointly now that debts have been discharged. UNFINISHED BUSINESS None. NEW BUSINESS AT&T Recertification of Simms Hill Tower - Don Ross, representing AT&T, explained that this is a two-pronged request. The first is to recertify an expired special use permit. In the course of rolling out 4G across upstate New York the Simms Hill tower was identified as a perfect site in that process. When they applied for a building permit, they were made aware o f the need for recertification. The tower is at 1234 Simms Hill R oad and was built in 1996. It is 181’ tall. The application is for recertification and an amendment to their special use permit for their co-location on that tower. Supv Sumner said the recertification is relatively routine and doesn’t require a hearing. The amendment to allow three additional antennas does require a public hearing. The hearing was set for February 20, 2014 at 7:15 p.m. Special Use Permit - Bieber – This application to establish a dog kennel business at 105 Beam Hill Road was scheduled for public hearing at 7:00 p.m. on February 20, 2014. Resolution to apply for Farmland Protection Planning Grant - Under this grant the town will hire a consultant. The maximum grant is $25,000. Town match for this grant can be almost entirely in kind. The cash contribution from the town is about $1500. The budget TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 6 of 9 provides for the in-kind contribution as well as the cash contribution. The Ag Committee reviewed the draft application last night. Supv Sumner noted that the water protection plan we are contemplating will be new assignments for the Planning Dept and we are operating with a half time planner. We need to seriously consider what to do about the gap in planning staf f. This resolution simply authorizes the application. If we find we are not able to take on the task, we can not accept the funding. Cl Leifer said the Ag Committee is behind this and it will provide a lot of data for the Comprehensive Plan, Open Space Plan and Agriculture Plan. RESOLUTION #28 (2014 – AUTHORIZING APPLICATION FOR NEW YORK STATE FUNDING FOR DEVELOPMENT OF AN AGRICULTURAL FARMLAND PROTECTION Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Dryden recognizes the importance of agriculture and agricultural related enterprises as vital to the Town’s economic base and in protecting and preserving the Town’s rural character through the wise use and management of the Town’s natural resources through good farming practices; and WHEREAS, the 2005 Comprehensive Plan states that the Town Board “should establish an advisory committee comprised of members of the farming community”; and WHEREAS, the Town Board has established an Agricultural Advisory Committee for the Town of Dryden to advise the Town Board on agricultural issues, whether arising from within the Town or outside of the Town, that impact Agriculture and Agricultural related enterprises within the Town of Dryden and provide recommendations to the Town Board when appropriate; and WHEREAS, the Agricultural Advisory Committee has identified the need to develop a long - range plan to protect and enhance agricultural lands in the Town of Dryden and recommended that the town undertake development such a plan; and WHEREAS, the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets provides funding to assist with municipal farmland protection planning; and WHEREAS, the Agricultural Advisory Committee has reviewed and approved the appl ication for funding prepared by the Planning Department for $25,000 to assist with development of a Farmland Protection Plan that specifically references:  the types of agricultural activity that occurs in the Town of Dryden  the range of policies that will support agriculture in the immediate and distant futures  action items to strengthen agricultural protection and conservation  an inventory of underutilized and idle agricultural lands  recommendations for developing agriculture-related businesses Therefore, be it RESOLVED, that the Town Board authorizes the Supervisor to submit an application to New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets. 2nd Cl Sloan Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Supv Sumner Yes TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 7 of 9 Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes Supv Sumner asked the board to consider the water protection plan resolution. Cl Leifer said he learned about the New York Rural Water Association at a meeting in Caroline. Caroline is doing a groundwater study and this association assists municipalities in gat hering data and further assistance with drafting legislation. It will provide data that we don’t currently have in the current Comprehensive Plan. 95% of the town relies on well water and a municipal water system that relies on a well. The Town has an aquifer protection law on the shelf for the Virgil Creek Aquifer, but we don’t have data for other areas. This will give us that data, and there is no cost to town, except some minimal staff time. Steven Winkley of Rural Water said the only staff time will be minimal. This will complement other programs and information we have. Work will begin in April, assuming there is enough funding for 2014. Then it will be about a year for the report to be generated. RESOLUTION #29 (2014) – TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT A SOURCE WATER PROTECTION PLAN WITH TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE FROM NEW YORK RURAL WATER ASSOCIATION Cl Leifer offered the following resolution and asked for its adoption: WHEREAS, the Town Board of the Town of Dryden has determined that acquiring data on the quality and quantity of the town’s water resources is in the Town’s best interest; and WHEREAS, the New York Rural Water Association’s federally funded Source Water Protection Program provides technical assistance at no charge to rural and small communities for the development and implementation of local source water protection plans and laws designed to prevent the deterioration of water resources used for drinking water; and WHEREAS, NYRWA’s Source Water Protection Specialist is qualified and ava ilable to assist the Town Board or its designee(s) in identifying water supply resources to be protected, potential risks to the quality and quantity of drinking water resources, measures needed to reduce risks; evaluating the Town’s existing water protect ion measures; and plans for the future, including water supply emergency events; and WHEREAS, NYRWA’s Source Water Protection Specialist will work with the Town Board or its designee(s) to ensure that any action taken to protect the Town’s water resources reflects the needs of the local community and is based on sound research and science; and WHEREAS, planning department staff have reviewed the program and recognized potential for water resource and risk information to contribute to other town plans incl uding but not limited to the Open Space Plan, the Farmland Protection Plan and the Comprehensive plan; therefore BE IT RESOLVED, that the Town of Dryden will take the following steps to develop and implement a source water protection plan:  Form a planning team to include one or more town board members, one or planning department staff members, and representatives from town advisory boards or other non-governmental agencies  Work with NYRWA personnel to identify water supply resources and potential threats  Recommend and implement management strategies to protect identified water sources  Periodically review and update the protection plan. TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 8 of 9 2nd Cl Sloan Roll Call Vote Cl Sloan Yes Supv Sumner Yes Cl Leifer Yes Cl Lavine Yes Planning Board Resolution 10-12-13 – This resolution requests that consideration be given to the importance of economic development planning in appointing a new planning director. Supv Sumner is concerned that the town has not moved forward in conducting a search for a new Planning Director and the position has been defunded, so we need to think about how, when or if to replace the planning director. Cl Leifer said at budget time they discussed doing a review of the Planning Department as it is, to look at who we have here and how they are utilized. J Laquatra – The Planning Board recommends the position be filled, and if someone is hired who is capable in economic development, they would generate their own salary by expanding the tax base. This person would be in charge of getting the message out that Dryden is open for business and take advantage of some of the opportunities that are available to us. Supv Sumner said she has comments from other Planning Board members that she will share with the board. She added that it has been difficult for the rest of the staff to take up the slack with the vacancy. Now with having the deputy clerk out because of illness, it is getting stressful for many of us. Charlie Smith – Supports J Laquatra’s recommendation. He finds it incredulous that the board defunded the position of Director of Planning and has been 3 months without a search. He is familiar with the load that the Interim Director of Planning is carrying now. The opportunities discussed tonight will be hard to reach with the current level of staffing. It’s been said that we have more staff than we need in the Planning Department. This is the largest town in the county in terms of area. We have some of the richest natural resources in the County in this town. The Conservation Board is familiar with those in depth and that is perhaps why the Planning Department is important to this town, if you choose to protect the natural resources we have and to conserve them. Supv Sumner suggested it could be discussed via email prior to setting up a meeting. G Sloan asked how to re-fund the position and how quickly it could happen. If we are going to search for a candidate, the sooner the word is out and the longer it is open, the better the pool of candidates. Supv Sumner will put together her thoughts regarding salary and what could be cut to come up with the funding. She will look to Judy Drake for direction and outline of steps to be taken. Cl Leifer said we need to review the entire department, look at the GIS technician spot, look at who we have in dept and determine what our needs are. Supv Sumner will put together job descriptions of the people there now and send to the board. Bolton Point combined GIS and IT. J Bogdan has been spearheading the conversion to the new software program and has been helpful as assistant to TCAD and other economic development forums. She will ask J Nicholson and J Bogdan to write that up. TB 1-16-14 D R A F T Page 9 of 9 M Lane stated the County Personnel Dept helps with civil service and other things. Anita Fitzpatrick and Steve Estes would be helpful resources. Supv Sumner will distribute information and at the next agenda meeting and get a sense of how much further discussion the board believes is necessary. Cl Leifer will be out of town for the February meetings. COMMITTEE REPORTS Finance Committee – Cl Leifer and Cl Solomon will be going over the highway budget with the Highway Superintendent. Emergency Services – Lengthy discussions continue about the dual response requirement in the fire contracts. They are discussing the idea of creating an emergency response board with representatives from each dept to help develop performance standards and review incidents. One town board member will be included in that group. Supv Sumner will be sending a press release in the next day or two announcing Judge Joe Valentinelli's intention to resign effective February 28. The position will be filled by Town Board appointment until the next general election. The Board will solicit letters of interest and would like to make an appointment in March. There being no further business, on motion made, seconded and unanimously carried, the meeting was adjourned at 8:58 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Bambi L. Avery Town Clerk